Eagles-Giants matchup features two bad defenses

Eagles cornerback Cary Williams, being stiff-armed by Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas last week, has one of the Eagles’ two interceptions. The Eagles are last in the league in yards allowed. (Associated Press)

PHILADELPHIA — One of these weeks someone is going to emerge as the face of the Eagles’ defense.

Don’t hold your breath.

The Eagles (1-3) are next to last in scoring defense, surrendering 34.5 points per game.

This weekend, they take on the New York Giants (0-4), who allow a league-high 36.5 points.

The Eagles are last in the league in total defense, allowing 446.8 points per game. If you remember the days this rivarly had defenders like Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Brian Dawkins and Michael Strahan you got a taste of the golden age of NFL defense.

“You don’t get a face of your defense until you’re playing worth someone having a face,” Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin said. “So when you’re giving up 38 points, there’s nobody to be the face of that defense. I know we had a defense in Houston and we had a nickname. You want to know why? It’s because we had the second-best defense in the league for two years in a row. You get a nickname. You get personalities. Until you start playing like that, like a dominant defense there’s not going to be any faces or any nicknames or any of that.”

The handle of those elite Texans defenses was “Bulls on Parade.” It’s a Texas thing.

The face of the Giant’s injury-riddled defense is Jason Pierre-Paul. He has just one sack and is coming off major back surgery.

At the heart of the Eagles’ defensive issues is their inability to generate turnovers. Only six teams have fewer takeaways than the Eagles, who have interceptions by cornerbacks Cary Williams and Brandon Boykin, and three fumble recoveries.

Though the Eagles are right around the NFL average with 10 sacks, including two each from Barwin and Fletcher Cox, they’ve not made quarterbacks nearly as uncomfortable as they should.

Linebacker Brandon Graham and defensive end Vinny Curry have one sack apiece, but aren’t getting a lot of playing time. Veteran linebacker Trent Cole has no sacks.

“We need to get more pressure on the quarterback,” head coach Chip Kelly said. “That’s obvious.”

This could be a good week for an Eagles defender to step up. The Giants offensive line is decimated with injuries. Eli Manning has been sacked 14 times and has thrown a league-high nine interceptions.

“The defense is coming together,” Barwin said. “The personalities are coming together and growing every week. It’s a process and we’re moving forward. It’s only Week 5. Hopefully it’s going to continue to grow and develop into what the defense is going to be in the next couple of weeks.”